Not sure if I should stick with employer insurance or shop on the marketplace
I've gotten insurance via my employer since I started working at my current job, mostly out of convenience. But I think my hospital must have changed what insurance they accept because my insurance didn't cover much this year.
I have separate insurance providers for health, dental and vision via my workplace. Only one person locally takes my vision insurance. No one at my local hospital takes my dental insurance now where I have been a patient since I was a kid and I need to pay for routine care entirely out of pocket. The independent dental clinics that do take my insurance have terrible reviews or are not taking new patients, and the health insurance is very stingy about what they will cover.
Our premiums are going to increase a little when we renew (because they always do), but as of right now, I pay about $180 per month for health insurance, $30 per month for dental and $4 per month for vision. I'm sure this is reasonable for dental and vision, but I don't know if $180 a month is expensive or cheap for health? I might stick with the vision and nope out of the health and dental insurance in favor of something else because why pay for dental insurance that I can't use?
As far as my health needs, I have a chronic illness that requires lifelong medication and annual bloodwork for dosage adjustments. I also need antibiotics 1-3 times a year due to chronic sinus infections and an annual ladies' wellness visit. I prefer being able to get two dental cleanings a year and they always make me get X-rays once a year. That's about the extent of my expected medical needs.
I take medication for the aforesaid illness, but no insurance covers it because it's "natural" and I also take oral contraception that my insurance surprisingly covers entirely. I think the one I take is something like $117 for a three-month supply out of pocket.
I mention all these things because I thought it might help determine what would be best for me to shop around for. I'm leaning toward getting different insurance because my health insurance does not like to pay for much.
I'm not sure how to shop on the marketplace because I know that a cheaper monthly payment doesn't necessarily mean better coverage. I'm poor, but not poor enough for Medicaid, so that's not an option. If it helps, my marketplace is Pennie and my current health insurance is Geisinger.
Based on what I've described, does anyone think it might be better to get a health insurance plan on the health marketplace, or should I stick with my employer-provided insurance? Or should I provide more information? I looked a little last week and I recall finding a plan that my primary doctor accepted for like $36 a month, but I have a feeling cheap plans are a "too good to be true" kind of a thing.
submitted by /u/BingoHighway
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